THE search continues to recognise, acknowledge and reward the so-called Cinderella sports through special awards honouring former Murray & Roberts director and 1950s SA Cricket team captain, Jack Cheetham.

Construction and infrastructure development company, Murray & Roberts, in partnership with the South African Sport Confederation and Olympic Committee and Sowetan, run the highly respected Murray & Roberts Jack Cheetham Memorial Award and the Murray & Roberts Letsema Award.

Now in its 29th year, the award was initiated by Murray & Roberts in recognition of the special qualities of Jack Cheetham.

As the inspirational captain of the South African cricket team, Cheetham was able to instil in young people the belief that they could face, match the best and win. It honours sports development projects targeting and nurturing individuals or teams that have the potential to be champions.

On the other hand, the recently launched Murray & Roberts' Letsema Sizwe Community Trust provides social upliftment of the communities, particularly the black youth, aged and disabled people, as well as black women in areas where Murray & Roberts operates.

Meanwhile, the Letsema Sizwe Community Trust supports sport development in previously disadvantaged communities, general youth development and HIV-Aids prevention. Collectively awarding prizes amounting to R1,4million the Jack Cheetham Award is for sports development projects in the able-bodied category, while the Murray & Roberts Letsema Award targets sports development projects for people with disabilities.

In each category, the breakdown of prizes is as follows: overall winner, R500000, payable over five years; second-place, R150000, over three years; and third-place, a lump sum of R50000.

To be eligible for nomination, a sports project must demonstrate a meaningful contribution to the development of sport in South Africa. It must benefit previously disadvantaged citizens. Nominations must include a short description of the project, detailing how it has contributed to development and community upliftment.

They must show the role of sport in the project, highlight the inspirational role of leadership, including a specific examples of leadership. They must state future plans and goals and supply an explanation of how these will help sustain the project.

In 2006, the Nelson Mandela Township Rowing Club in Port Alfred, Eastern Cape, won the award. The Kwanobuhle Hockey Development Programme in PE won in 2007. In 2008 it was the Welkom Wrestling Club development programme. The 2009 Murray & Roberts Jack Cheetham Memorial Award-winning group was the South African Tug-of-War Adopt a School project.

In 2008 Murray & Roberts identified Beijing Paralympics the triple gold medallist, Hilton Langenhoven, as a trust beneficiary trust allocating R100000 a year to help him with preparations for the 2012 Paralympics.

For 2009, disabled sports projects Boccia for the Severely Disabled and Judo for the Blind and Visually Impaired, became beneficiaries of the trust, giving each project R50000 over three years.

l A total of 21 nominations were submitted for the Murray & Roberts Jack Cheetham Memorial Award for able-bodied athletes and five submissions were received for the Murray & Roberts Letsema Award for physically-disabled athletes. Short-listing was due in Johannesburg on Monday.

The short-listed projects will be announced next week.